by Hart, Taylor
Everything Trina was saying was true, but how did Emily explain that it never ended with Brett? There was always more justice to mete out. “I see your point,” she said softly, still not letting it go.
“It was just like your whole breakup with Tom.”
This got Emily’s attention. “Tom?” His gorgeous face flashed through her mind. She pushed away the fact that she’d recently read one of the articles in People magazine that had come out about the Kent brothers. The article had shown a picture of Tom in firefighter pants, his shirt off, sweat glistening off of him in the midst of smoke. Attraction wove through her just thinking about it.
Trina continued, unfazed. “Yeah, Tom, the guy you’ve been in love with your whole life.”
“Stop.” Emily had to shut down this conversation. She knew it was dangerous to start thinking about Tom and analyzing everything that had gone wrong in that relationship. “I’m not talking about Tom.”
“Let me finish, counselor,” she said, using the last word to sound like a judge.
Emily sighed, annoyed that now all she could think about was Tom.
“Tom was good.” Trina paused, as if to give Emily the room to admit that was true. “He was the jock who actually stood up for guys who were picked on.”
“Judge, please strike the comment. It is leading the witness.”
Her sister laughed.
“Your point?” Emily said, waiting.
“Not to mention he was easy on the eyes, but all he could talk about was serving his country and firefighting. All he could think about was being strong so he was ready to save someone’s life. Don’t you remember seeing Will a couple of months ago? He mentioned Tom was single then. I wonder if he still is.”
Baffled, Emily asked, “How did we get to this point?”
“My point is that you were cuckoo brain in love with Tom, but the thing that finally ended it was the same reason you were in love with him—his goodness. He was too good. He had to serve his country, and that terrified you.”
Emily balked. She’d overthought Tom Kent for far too many years. “Whatever.” She squeezed the bridge of her nose, trying to relieve tension that was building. “Don’t psychoanalyze me.”
“All your dad issues.” Trina sounded frustrated. “You ended things with Tom because you couldn’t stand losing him. He was leaving you. I think you lump it in the same category with Dad. Hey, I have dad issues too, so it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Exactly,” Emily grumbled. Her sister didn’t have to say it like she’d won at Jeopardy.
“You need to face facts. You dumped him before he could dump you or die on you.”
The truth of her sister’s words hit her like a dagger to the heart. There wasn’t pain anymore. Not after ten years. Just smoldering embers. “It doesn’t serve me to dwell on the past.” This was what she told herself. These were the words the therapist she’d started seeing last year had given her.
Silence reigned between them. The waves lapping at her feet seemed far away, somehow.
Eventually, Emily shifted topics. “How’s Mom?”
Her sister sighed. “The same.”
“How is she?” Emily insisted, knowing sometimes her sister didn’t tell her things.
“The same,” Trina snapped.
Worry about her mother circled Emily’s mind like a vulture. During the past ten years, her mother had had more mental breakdowns and been on some pretty intense medication. A year ago, the doctors had told them she had early onset dementia.
“Hey, sis, I’m grateful for you. I know that we couldn’t afford to put Mom in that place if you weren’t paying for it. Since my divorce and college …” Trina trailed off.
“It’s fine.” The truth was that Emily did take care of the financial side of things. Her mother. Her sister. A major reason she needed to become junior partner was for the raise.
“I want you to know I appreciate it.”
Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. “I love all of you. It’s worth it.” Her thoughts flashed back to the case of Tom Kent. Distracted, she wondered if Tom ever thought of her.
An image of the future they’d talked about flashed through her mind, of living in Greeley, Colorado, down the street from both of their mothers. The house with a white picket fence. There was Tom, fixing it up while little kids darted around his feet. With an aching heart, she pushed it away. That life was way in the rearview mirror.
“I guess I should mention one more teensy thing.” Her sister’s voice was hesitant. “I wanted to wait until you were back from Maui.”
“What?” Nervous energy pulsed through her.
“Um, the care center is saying we owe fifteen thousand because of when Mom got sick last month and all the extra care they had to put in place.”
“What?” Emily nearly dropped her phone, and she fumbled to keep it from slipping. Their mother had gotten a cold, and it had turned into pneumonia. Emily thought of the contracts she’d scoured dealing with the facility her mother was in. She couldn’t remember seeing anything about extra charges. “I’ll have to look at it all when I get home.” Fifteen thousand! She swallowed and tried not to let herself panic, but she didn’t have fifteen thousand at the moment.
“Sorry, sis. One day, I’ll help you pay for stuff, and I’ll pay you back. One day, when I’m as famous of an actor as St. George Rahab Kent.”
Reflexively, she laughed, thinking of how they had teased Grant Kent, Tom’s brother, when they were growing up. “Yes.” Emily massaged the soft spot next to her eye, feeling a headache coming on. “You take care of yourself and my little nephew. Tell him auntie loves him.”
“Hey, sorry about your awful time in the most beautiful place in the world, but I gotta run. Love you! And ask that random guy to go to the wedding! Do something crazy, sis! You only live once.”
“Love you.” Emily held on to her phone and took in the beauty she was looking at. The surf, crashing against rocks. The palm trees closer to the shore. The way the foliage covered the earth. It was amazing here.
The emotional lump in her throat was loosening. Yes, she was okay. She sucked in a breath and held it, then let it go. She could do this. But it was an extra fifteen thousand! Where would she get that money? Squeezing her eyes shut, all she knew was that she had to make junior partner.
Watching the waves crash against the rocks, she thought about the popular guidebook her boss had given to all his guests on Maui. She was here. She wasn’t going to let Brett ruin this trip at all. She would hit every cool thing in this guidebook, and she wouldn’t think about facing everyone from work. Next stop, Seven Sacred Pools! She started back up the trail toward the parking lot.
“You here alone?” A tall guy with dark hair and brown eyes smiled back at her.
Emily’s insides fluttered with worry. Not just worry, but unease. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the guy passing her on the trail. “Uh. No.” After living in New York the past three years, she never told anyone when she was alone. “My boyfriend’s up ahead.”
Looking doubtful, the guy nodded. “That’s good. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be alone.”
Her clairvoyance was in full force, and she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Not liking the attention, and knowing she couldn’t outpace him to the top, she stopped on the far side of the rail and let herself get caught in the middle of a large tour group. She ignored the guy, pulling out her phone and taking a picture to distract herself.
“See you, blondie,” she heard the guy call out.
Annoyed, she stayed there for a few moments while others passed her.
When she turned to see if the guy was still there, he wasn’t. Relieved, she filed into the line to climb out. This was stupid. The guy had just been making conversation. Wasn’t that the very thing Trina had wanted her to do? She shivered again as she got to the visitor’s center and saw a crowd of people getting onto a tour bus next to the restroom. She couldn’
t see the guy, but something about the interaction still bothered her.
“Emily!”
Spinning, she surveyed the area, but no one seemed to be looking at her. The hair on the back of her neck was still standing. Blood rushed into her ears, and she took in a huge breath, trying to calm herself. No one was after her. She was fine.
Chapter 3
After stopping at the black-sand beach, looking at more waterfalls than Tom could count, and eating Thai food to die for, he and Will found themselves trudging down the elusive path to Red Sand Beach. The locals didn’t like people finding it and exploring it. Getting there was dangerous at times with the thickly pine-needled path and the roller-coaster trail that was snug against the side of the mountain.
As Will and Tom descended onto the lush red-sand beach and the bluest waters Tom had ever seen, he caught his breath. Beautiful. The waves were a bit rough, and the water wasn’t clear. It wasn’t snorkeling water, and the guidebook, the same one Tom had a lot more respect for now, had said as much.
“Wow.” Will got to the bottom of the trail and waited for him, taking in the scenery and tugging off his shirt before dropping it on a large rock and slipping off his flip-flops. His grin widened. “Dude, this is already the best trip ever.” He ran to the water, diving in.
Tom laughed. It was the best trip ever. He took off his shirt and sunglasses and flip-flops and laid them by Will’s. Then he ran at full speed toward the ocean, hiking into a jump and fully immersing himself in the water.
There weren’t that many people around. Some people were trying to snorkel, and a couple of college students appeared to be studying the sand itself.
“Over here.” Will flipped back his wet hair and pointed to a cave a bit into the water. He took off, swimming toward it.
Tom followed and found himself in an echo cave. The cool thing was that the cave opened up so they could stand, the ocean ebbing and flowing in and out of it. The walls were made of long, pointy rocks.
Will turned in a slow circle, inspecting the cave walls. “Dude, this is cool.”
Satisfaction soared through Tom. “Yeah.” He inspected the walls too, fascinated by the erosion process. The red walls had clearly been eroded to sand.
Will plunged back into the water and motioned for Tom to follow. “Who would have thought two military brats would end up at Red Sand Beach in Maui?”
Tom nodded, and they swam out into the deeper part of the ocean. “I read in the guidebook that this cove creates a washing machine effect from the ocean meeting the shoreline.” For a few moments, both of them faced the ocean and watched the waves crashing over and over. Tom was humbled by the beauty. “Incredible,” he whispered. All doubts about taking this trip evaporated. He grinned at his brother. “Let’s go. We still have the Seven Sacred Pools to drive to.”
Will was already hiking out of the water. “Let’s do this!”
After putting on their shirts and flip-flops, they began hiking out, Will leading and Tom following. Abruptly, Will stopped, and Tom almost ran into him. Which wasn’t good, because Tom teetered on the edge for a second before getting his balance.
“Hey!” Tom called out.
Flipping his head back, Will pointed up the trail. “Sorry, but I swear that’s Emily.”
Hearing Emily’s name for the second time that day felt just as abrupt as it had before. The woman Will was pointing to was way ahead of them, and all Tom could see was a blonde ponytail on her head before she disappeared around a corner.
For a moment, he wondered if his brother was right, but he pushed that thought away. His earlier annoyance had returned in full force. “Stop, bro. Just stop.” He pushed Will’s back to get him moving again.
“Emily!” Will called out.
“Stop it!” Tom pushed his shoulder.
“It looked just like her.”
“Quit even talking about her.” Unfortunately, now all Tom could think about was Emily.
Will didn’t say anything more about her as they hiked out. Getting to the top of the ridge, they walked in silence to the car.
Once they’d climbed into the Mustang, Tom started the car, but turned to his brother. “Just keep your mouth shut about Emily, okay? I’m on this trip to clear my head, and you’re not helping.”
Will put his hands up in surrender. “Fine. Sorry, I just thought it was her.”
“It wasn’t her,” Tom said, a bit louder than he’d meant to. Putting the car into gear, he grumbled, “It’s never her. Believe me, I see her everywhere.”
“What?” Will asked.
“Nothing.”
Will let out a huff and pulled out the guidebook. “Next up, the Seven Sacred Pools.”
Tom grunted. His mood had turned sour thinking of Emily.
“Dude, you’re like a pathetic country song when it comes to Emily.” Will shot him a taunting grin. “Maybe you should give the lyrics to Sloane and make some money off of your pain.”
Tom slugged him hard and fast in the gut.
“Ouch!”
“I told you to quit talking about her.”
* * *
Tom thought the hike down to the Seven Sacred Pools wasn’t as fulfilling as Red Sand Beach, but it was still beautiful.
The brothers hadn’t spoken since Tom had shut Will down, but it wasn’t like they were angry. The thing Tom appreciated most about his brothers was that they had “guy speak” between them. They didn’t need to speak aloud. It didn’t matter how long it’d been since he’d seen one of his brothers; they always picked up where they had left off. Besides brutally teasing each other and even putting holes in the walls from their testosterone-filled playing, they always got along.
Tom had found it interesting when people spoke of families not getting along or speaking to each other. It was something he didn’t understand at all. He’d been the youngest kid when his father had died, and he often wondered if that was part of the reason he was so close to his brothers. It had been an unwritten rule that the Kent brothers had each other’s back no matter what, and that their mama’s well-being was of the utmost importance to all of them. Zane had set this example, and all of them had followed suit.
As they took a selfie in front of the waterfalls of the pools draining into each other and then dumping into the ocean, Will glanced at him. “So, Zane’s for Christmas, right? That’s still the plan after we leave here?”
When their mama had passed, it had hit all of them hard, but Zane had taken up the mantle of planning family gatherings. Actually, he’d taken a kind of sick satisfaction in making sure all the brothers would attend. This Christmas, Zane had insisted all of them come to San Diego and celebrate with his wife and kids. He’d recently had a new baby they’d named Lily.
“Of course I’m going. I think Zane would hog-tie us and stick us in a prison camp in the jungle if we didn’t.”
Both of the brothers burst out laughing.
“True,” Will said, and they bumped knuckles.
Will nodded toward the ocean. “Well, bro, should we head out?”
“Yeah,” Tom said, but he didn’t move. He thought about how standing here, peering at the ocean, would almost let him forget about all the crap at the fire station the past year. He dealt with the hard parts of the job as routine, but sometimes, he needed to step back and get away from it all. Reset. This view right here just about scrubbed all the traumatic images from his mind. Not completely, but it did help.
Will nudged him. “What else is included in this trip?”
Tom shook himself back to reality. “Tomorrow is surf lessons. The next day is beach day. Then we have a snorkel cruise, and the last day is parasailing.” He shrugged. “So we’ll be pulling into San Diego Christmas Eve.”
“Awesome.”
“Yeah, it’s just …” This had been bugging him.
“What?”
“They told me yesterday that I’d be required to take photos for their website as part of the promotion of their tour company.” Tom rolled
his eyes. “I don’t like it being ‘required’ to do publicity.”
Will grunted. “I get my pic taken all the time, bro. It’s the way the world works.”
Would the media frenzy about the Kent brothers ever stop? Tom frowned. Between Grant being a movie star and Sloane being a country star, probably not. Then there was Will, who liked to post everything, and Walker, auction boy himself. Tom preferred the anonymity of a fulfilling life as a firefighter. “This is all of you all’s fault, and I’m getting tired of it. I shouldn’t have to be a media stunt every second.”
Will laughed. “Cry me a river, bro. Who cares? We’ll pose for some pics. It’s no big deal.”
Tom picked up the pace; a good walk would probably burn off his urge to pick a fight with Will. “Since you have the shoulder thing, you probably shouldn’t surf.”
“Dude, my shoulder’s fine.” Will scoffed and flexed his bicep. “I’m in the best shape. Just because my trainers wouldn’t release me doesn’t mean I couldn’t get the job done.”
“Press is getting ticky-tacky about your injury.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Will asked, on the defensive again. “Dang, it feels like the press has it in for me all of a sudden.”
Tom had heard way too much about how it was unjust for Will not to be playing in the games up until the Champion Game. He didn’t want to get his brother started about the nonsense with the press, so he put up his hand to end the conversation. “Okay, okay, let’s talk about something else.”
They caught up to a group of tourists clumped together on the path and slowed down.
“Hey, I have to listen to all your crap. You can listen to my issues.” Will plunged into the crowd.
Resigning himself, Tom tuned him out and waited. He scanned the line of tourists up the trail and wished he could be rude and push through all of them. A younger version of himself might have done it, but he’d learned patience—more or less.
Out of nowhere, he saw a blonde ponytail, a red tank top, and black shorts. Adrenaline kicked through him. Emily? He couldn’t see her well, but the woman appeared to be by herself at the top of the line of tourists, moving fast. “No way.” He strained to make out her face, but the woman wore sunglasses.
